Show Topics Interpreted by William Bruckart National Nation Press Pres Building Washington D D. D C. C Washington When PresIdent Roosevelt took office for his first firs term one of the About outstanding Money that he made was to the effect that the American people feared fear and of this condition was born Instability It was as a R remarkable remarkable remarkable re re- statement D and d the truth of It may not now even be denied It It accurately presented one of the fundamental Influences disturbing e and i if that psychology could have been completely swept swep away I believe belleve things would have been different now As I remember I comm commented at that time upon the new Presidents President's remark Subsequently I called attention attention attention at at- to the conditions conditions' of administration administration admin admin- policy under the New Deal that were necessarily causing a continuation continuation continuation con con- of that fear ear of fear rear instead instead in in- stead of calming the nations nation's nerves As Mr Roosevelt closes his first term and begins his second tenure I believe It is is' is entirely proper proper again to advert to to his significant and truthful observation of 1933 We can lo look k at his till picture only In I retrospect regrettable as it Is is' that we cannot see into the future It would then seem to be an entirely permissible thing to do do to examine examine the basis of Mr Roosevelt's observation observation and see what has has' been done to correct the condition about which he complained I shall not attempt to go into the various phases of the year four term Indeed I think it is neither advisable nor necessary to analyze conditions beyond those that are arc basic fundamental in our national economic and political structure For that reason and because of recent developments of ot administrative tive policy Tarn lam writing something about money in this report to you The Scripture quotation is The Thc love of mone money is the root of all evil In treating of the subject of money from our bur practical standpoint standpoint stand stand- point the love of money takes on quite an unusual definition For may I point out in candor there never has been a national administration administration admin admin- so far as my research goes that has so thoroughly loved the spending of mone money I believe Mr Roos Roosevelt velt himself enjoys it ii but Mr Roosevelt is not the chief offender offender offender of of- fender of his administration in this regard The two men whose records records records rec rec- stand out with an absurd willingness willingness will will- to throw money around as asI asI asI I used to throw pebbles when I Iwas Iwas Iwas was a a. boy on a Missouri farm are Harry Hopkins Works Progress administrator administrator ad ad- and Secretary Wallace of the Department of Agriculture I am quite convinced that Mr Hopkins Hopkins Hop Hop- kins is the worse of the two My conclusion Is b based ls d on a conviction that Mr Hopkins is the more waste fut ful I am afraid that when the history history his tory o of this great depression is set down in the cold light of facts as they Uley will appear a quarter o of a century century century cen cen- tury from rom now Mr l Hopkins will have a place in that spotlight that I will not do credit to the hundreds of people who have the real welfare of the poor at heart The latest development concerning concerning concerning concern concern- ing Mr vIr Hopkins Hopkins' is his statement that there must be Money at 1 least e a s t three three- for faT Relief quarters of a bil billion billion billion bil- bil lion new money appropriated for for- his relief relict work I President Roosevelt previously had hads s said stid ld he would ask asle congress for only holt half in If a billion It is difficult to rec reconcile these two statements or the reasons Some slipshod thing has taken pl place or else Mr Hopkins again is Indulging in his favorite sport of spending and wasting wasting wasting wast wast- ing taxpayers taxpayers' money Now the figures reveal that re re- relief lief operations as managed by Mr Hopkins are costing about a n month I If Mr l Roosevelt intends to use only for Cor relief curtailment in sharp fashion must take place I If no such cur- cur ailment is intended even the Hopkins Hop Hop- Hopkins kins figure is t too o small Thus we are brought face to face again with a a question What is to tobe be jc the policy I hear more and more discussion as congress gets unc un r way that some definite statement state I meet ment ought to be made some commitment commitment com com- comi i given so that the nation would know what it is proposed to todo todo todo do with all of this money and how much of it is to be bc used Incidentally Mr Roosevelt recently recently re re- re spoke rather curtly to some of his departmental heads about their printing bills He thought they were too large and that money should could be saved in fn that direction Now it happens governmental printing minting bills amount to no more than Ulan a drop in the bucket when com com- 1 ared to the waste that goes on on inthe in inthe the he enormous relief set up of which Mr Hopkins is the head It has been shown too many times to need clabor elaboration tion here Since Mr Roosevelt has taken note Dote of the departmental printing bills however I would like to make the suggestion on that there is no valid reason Reason any v longer for lor ex excluding hiding relief re- re lief lie appropriations from the I regular regu- regu lar br ar estimates of expenditures as Included in In- in included eluded in the annual budget Like many mapy other Items the relief totals may have to be revised later but that does not excuse the rather careless care care- less ess practices that have grown up k lr the calculation of relief expendi expendI- tures It does docs not ot exclude the necessity necessity ne ne- t for a R real protection against heedless spending nor docs does It prevent prevent prevent pre pre- vent the formulation of intelligent policies Individually I 1 do not quite understand understand under under- stand why the administration should fuss about a few millions of oC printing print print- printing ing bills and toss out half halt a billion or three quarters of a billion as a'S the case may be be with reckless abandon when such tossing is done without any evident continuity of sound pol icy I re referred erred to Secretary Wallaces Wallace's spending proclivities Mr Wallace has been going Wallace about the country Talks Money lately talking of the necessity for soil conservation and the payment of a subsidy to farmers to accomplish accomplish pUsh that end He has been talking about money In hi sums as large as a billion dollars a year for crop Insurance In In- a a program in furtherance normal of Mr Wallaces Wallace's ever granary idea In theory there is much to be said in favor of spreading unpredictable able losses of farming through in in- A large part of the distress distress dis dis- dis tress found in agricultural regions Is due to the destruction of crops by causes over which the farmers have no control If the consequences of these hazards could be minimized by adjusting losses over wide areas and by using the surplus of one year to to- offset the shortage of the next one major farm problem would be solved But as matters now stand there is a natural tendency tendency tendency tend tend- ency to regard this move with a This This-is necessary because because because be be- cause like so many ninny theories the Wallace crop insurance ever normal normal normal nor nor- mal granary plan seems to omit the one one element that is necessary to be included If this proposition is to be successful there simply can be no doubt that It must have almost unanimous support It does docs not not have it and never will The reason is that it calls upon the the- government to pay part or all of the cost and human nature ably bly resents taking from one to give I to another w Mr Wallaces Wallace's ideas were adopted by the Presidents President's crop insurance insurance- committee That committee was supposed to have the interest of agriculture agriculture agriculture ag ag- ag- ag at heart Its recommendations recommendations recommendations indicate that it had not only such an interest but an even greater interest namely making malting sure that the farmers were given everything From all nIl o of the discussions that I have heard I it is quite apparent that the committee went too far It went so far Indeed that it is arousing resentment from the Ute consumers who think that they will have to pay the bill Therefore Therefore Therefore There There- fore by proposing a program that is too extreme the crop insurance committee and Mr Wallace have forced a n cleavage between producer ci and consumer and that at is likely t to result in a renewal of wa warfare are between between between be be- tween these two segments of our ouI national life e. e It will C cause a re revival revival revival re- re vival of an age old age old quarrel instead of a healing of old No one can deny that toe the farmers as a class have not been getting their fair share From the attitude attitude- of many thinking farmers however I rather believe that agric agriculture would prefer to have a farm aid program which would permit it to ta produce and sell to the under harmonious conditions and regulations rather than get to too c much and earn the hatred of the the- masses who have to buy the farmers farmers' farm farm- ers ers' output To advert to the original theme Mr Wallace likes to pass out mon- mon ey He knows as all others in pubic public pub pub- ic lie life know that the government will vill be generous with agriculture and I am afraid that fact has caused the otherwise genial secretary secretary sec- sec of agriculture to lose his perspective per per- to to forget that he is fostering fostering fostering foster foster- ing a program that will vill change traditions traditions traditions tra tra- tra- tra and practices on the farms of f America as surely as the Ule sun shines Farmers are human as everyone else is human Some of them like some of us who must exist among among modern cliff eM dwellings of concrete and steel entertain a a. fear that a n policy of government payments equivalent to a dole may have the Ute effect In the end of destroying ra rather ther than saving the business of or agriculture p Western Newspaper Union |